An assessment of using eco-friendly crop production practices by the project beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in Bangladesh

The purposes of this study were to determine the present state of use of eco-friendly crop production practices by the beneficiaries of “safe crop production through eco-friendly approaches” project and non-beneficiary smallholder farmers and to explore the factors that may influence their use. The study’s population was the smallholder farmers of 2 villages (Darirampur and Birrampur Uzanpara) of Rampur union under Trishal upazila (sub-district) of Bangladesh. 60 beneficiaries and 60 non-beneficiaries were randomly selected as samples from a population of 270 beneficiaries and 585 non-beneficiaries. Thus, the total sample was 120 smallholder farmers. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The respondents were asked to give responses regarding their use of 21 practices following a 4-point rating scale. The highest proportion (95%) of the beneficiaries had medium extent of use, whereas highest proportion (85%) of the non-beneficiaries had low extent of use. The multiple linear regression analysis showed educational level, annual income, training experience, extension media contact, knowledge, and attitude toward eco-friendly crop production practices were the influential variables for the beneficiaries explaining 81.8% variation. However, for the non-beneficiaries, annual income, training experience, organizational participation, and credit received were the influential variables explaining 78.1% variation. The beneficiaries are more environmentally conscious than the non-beneficiaries, which highlights the need for authorities to involve more farmers in future projects to ensure safe crop production and better environmental health.